Do I ship it?

GamesTransportationTransportation + Inventory Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Inventory Management Transportation game?

Transportation + Inventory Management

Of 20 developers who shipped an Inventory Management Transportation game in the last 2 years: 3 in 10 made under est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 4 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 20 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 39 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $45k, ×72 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 39 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 35% on the market, 39 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Transportation + Inventory Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 20
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $22k → $1.9k → $1.7k → $7.2k → $1.6k (still earning) → $359 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Transportation + Inventory Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 20
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,347)
Top 25% $5.9k (exactly $5,865)
Top 5% $45k (exactly $45,205)
Developers, 2 yr 20
Released games 37
Announced 39
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue down 35% on the market, supply 85% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 19%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Transportation
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Inventory Management
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Transportation, Inventory Management; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Resource Management, Simulation, Economy
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Realistic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 58% positive over 377 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $5.8k, 1 in 20 over $45k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 9 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 39 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Transportation with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Character CustomizationFair19 devs · median $7.2k · 24 announced
  2. + PvPFair10 devs · median $5.7k · 11 announced
  3. + 3D PlatformerFair13 devs · median $3.1k · 12 announced
  4. + RacingFair39 devs · median $2.3k · 35 announced
  5. + Action-AdventureFair21 devs · median $2.3k · 22 announced
  6. + LogicFair29 devs · median $1.7k · 30 announced
  7. + ArcadeFair37 devs · median $839 · 32 announced
  8. + IdlerFair15 devs · median $747 · 20 announced
  9. + Co-opPoor odds17 devs · median $369k · 25 announced
  10. + Online Co-OpPoor odds14 devs · median $369k · 25 announced
  11. + Level EditorPoor odds10 devs · median $43k · 17 announced
  12. + Life SimPoor odds24 devs · median $27k · 48 announced

All 53 pairs on the Transportation page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Trans-Siberian Railway Simulator · EA older $19.99 1,835 91% 55k $1.1M (exactly $1,100,450) Pentacle
Tiny Rails older $9.99 596 75% 18k $179k (exactly $178,621) Trophy Games
Train World older $34.99 85 75% 2.6k $89k (exactly $89,224) Turn Point Games
Global Magnates: Shipping Tycoon $12.99 116 64% 3.5k $45k (exactly $45,205) Aquila Chengdu
Airline Flight Attendant Simulator VR older $24.99 39 66% 1.2k $29k (exactly $29,238) AVIAR B.V.
Moving Simulator $7.99 112 42% 3.4k $27k (exactly $26,846) Corpix Games, PlayWay S.A.
Tank Mechanic Simulator VR older $19.99 38 73% 1.1k $23k (exactly $22,789) GameFormatic S.A.
Roody:2d · EA older $14.99 48 97% 1.4k $22k (exactly $21,586) redinator2000
Service Area Simulator $9.99 26 50% 780 $7.8k (exactly $7,792) ikika Games
Adopted Passion Realize Your Dream · EA older $19.99 12 66% 360 $7.2k (exactly $7,196) fabolous_lux
Silk Roads II: Paths of Fortune $9.99 24 75% 720 $7.2k (exactly $7,193) Priory Games
Metro Mini Market Simulator $3.99 49 69% 1.5k $5.9k (exactly $5,865) Altai Entertainment
European Seafreight Tycoon · EA $12.99 15 66% 450 $5.8k (exactly $5,846) Warnicke Gamedesign
Industrial Empire · EA $6.99 9 33% 270 $1.9k (exactly $1,887) Mustafa Alimoğlu, Destiny Game Studios
Car Tycoon $6.99 8 87% 240 $1.7k (exactly $1,678) TOKI Games
Failed Game Developer $5.99 9 88% 270 $1.6k (exactly $1,617) msswkd
Payout - Shop Simulator $4.99 9 66% 270 $1.3k (exactly $1,347) Bigos Games

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.